The Olympian: Jesse Owens, the African-American track & field athlete who won gold in the 1936 Berlin Olympics... Show More »

The Olympian: Jesse Owens, the African-American track & field athlete who won gold in the 1936 Berlin Olympics -- and embarrassed the heck out of Hitler by defeating the Aryans he competed against.

Hard-knock life: Racism, segregation, legal troubleExtra obstacle: Honestly, do you need any more than those?And featuring: Levar Burton! Tom Bosley!Should it air on Lifetime? It won a primetime Emmy. It's probably too good for the channel. « Less

2/14

'The Bob Mathias Story':

The Olympian: US track and field athlete Bob Mathias, the first man to win back-to-back gold medals in the Dec... Show More »

The Olympian: US track and field athlete Bob Mathias, the first man to win back-to-back gold medals in the Decathlon in two Olympic games

Hard-knock life: Actually he seems to have been pretty happyExtra obstacles: He competed in the Decathlon without actually knowing the rules of the event, and almost fouled out. And featuring: Bob Mathias and his wife as themselves!Should it air on Lifetime? Nah. Everyone's too darn content. « Less

3/14

'Dawn!':

The Olympian: Australian swimming legend Dawn Fraser, the first person to win gold in the same even in three consecutive Games... Show More »

The Olympian: Australian swimming legend Dawn Fraser, the first person to win gold in the same even in three consecutive Games.

Hard-knock life: Divorce. but other than that, she actually seems quite happy with her life. That doesn't mean everyone was happy with her -- she alienated just about anyone in charge by, for example. refusing to wear the sponsor's new swimsuit because she liked the old one better.Extra obstacle: She was banned from swimming for 10 years after she was accused of stealing the Olympic flag from outside the Emperor's palace in Tokyo. She denied the charge, and was reinstated four year later, but it was too later for her to compete in another Olympics. And featuring: A whole bunch of Australians. Should it air on Lifetime? The quirky, headstrong woman who wins in the end without ever bowing to authority or suffering unduly? This seems more like a BBC America offering. « Less

4/14

'Wilma' :

The Olympian: US athlete Wilma Rudolph, the first woman to win three gold medals at one Olympics. She made her mark at the Ro... Show More »

The Olympian: US athlete Wilma Rudolph, the first woman to win three gold medals at one Olympics. She made her mark at the Rome Games in 1950.

Hard-knock life: Poverty, segregation, racism.Extra obstacle: Childhood polio.And featuring: Cicely Tyson! Denzel Washington, in his first role!Should it air on Lifetime? Not quite enough women-in-peril for serious Lifetime fans, but it would class up the joint. « Less

5/14

'Going for the Gold: The Bill Johnson Story':

The Olympian: US skier Bill Johnson was the first American man to win gold when he took t... Show More »

The Olympian: US skier Bill Johnson was the first American man to win gold when he took the medal in the downhill at the Sarajevo Olympics in 1984.

Hard-knock life: He's a rebel, he gets in trouble with the law, he goes to jail, he's given a choice between prison and¿ a ski academy? Wait, how can I get in the kind of trouble that gives me that sort of choice? Extra obstacles: Divorce, the death of his 13-month-old son in a hot-tub drowning, and a horrific accident while training for a comeback that left him brain-damaged and disabled. And featuring: Anthony Edwards! Sarah Jessica Parker!Should it air on Lifetime? No. It aired in 1985, before his major troubles. To make it a serious Lifetime contender, they'd need to remake it and focus on his mom, who's still caring for her profoundly disabled son. « Less

6/14

'Nadia':

The Olympian: Nadia Comaneci, the first female gymnast to get a perfect 10 at the Olympics -- and she was just 14 years old. S... Show More »

The Olympian: Nadia Comaneci, the first female gymnast to get a perfect 10 at the Olympics -- and she was just 14 years old. She was the sweetheart of the 1976 Games in Montreal.

Hard-knock life: Communism, tough training montages.Extra obstacle: Separated from her coach, surrounded by jealous teammates, weight gain.And featuring: No one you've heard of. Should it air on Lifetime? It's tough to imagine this airing anywhere else. « Less

7/14

'Golden Will: The Silken Laumann Story':

The Olympian: Canadian rower Silken Laumann (yes, that's her real name), who won two bron... Show More »

The Olympian: Canadian rower Silken Laumann (yes, that's her real name), who won two bronzes and one silver over the course of three Olympic games.

Hard-knock life: Abandonned by her unhappy mother for up to a year at a time when she was growing up.Extra obstacle: A horrific crash during training that sliced her leg open to the bone. She came back from that injury to win a bronze medal at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona.And featuring: Amanda Tapping! Should it air on Lifetime? The childhood trauma makes it more Lifetime than ESPN, so, sure. « Less

8/14

'Breaking the Surface: The Greg Louganis Story':

The Olympian: Greg Louganis, the only man to sweep Olympic diving events in two consec... Show More »

The Olympian: Greg Louganis, the only man to sweep Olympic diving events in two consecutive Games.

Hard-knock life: Adopted, bullied, sickly childhood, abusive relationship.Extra obstacles: Gay, HIV positive, concussion during the Seoul Olympics. that he overcame to win gold. And featuring: Mario Lopez as Greg Louganis! Greg Louganis as the voice of Greg Louganis! Should it air on Lifetime? Oh, you know it. « Less

9/14

'A Promise Kept: The Oksana Baiul Story':

The Olympian: Ukrainian figure skater Oksana Baiul won gold in the 1994 games in Lillehammer.... Show More »

The Olympian: Ukrainian figure skater Oksana Baiul won gold in the 1994 games in Lillehammer.

Hard-knock life: Abandoned by dad, mom and grandparents die, grew up under communism, lived through the fall of communism, and some seriously bad big hair/makeup combos. Extra obstacle: Injured right before the Olympic free skate -- but she prevailed.And featuring: Miguel Ferrer! Oksana Baiul as herself!Should it air on Lifetime? It won a Daytime Emmy. Yeah, it's Lifetime material. « Less

10/14

'On Thin Ice: The Tai Babilonia Story':

The Olympian: The figure-skating duo Babilonia and Gardner dominated the US and World champions... Show More »

The Olympian: The figure-skating duo Babilonia and Gardner dominated the US and World championships, but injury kept them from Olympic Gold.

Hard-knock life: Pills, booze, weight gain, bad romance and a suicide attempt after the Olympics were taken from her.Extra obstacle: Randy Gardner's groin injury just days before the 1980 Olympics forced the couple to withdraw. He does not respond by drinking and popping pills, but that's why the movie doesn't get named after him, right? And featuring: Christopher Knight! (You know, from the Brady Bunch!) Should it air on Lifetime? Definitely. « Less

11/14

'A Brother's Promise: The Dan Jansen Story':

The Olympian: US speed skater Dan Jansen, who suffered heartbreak and loss before fin... Show More »

The Olympian: US speed skater Dan Jansen, who suffered heartbreak and loss before finally winning Gold in Lillehammer in 1994.

Hard-knock life: Jansen's sister was dying of leukemia. He promised he'd win a gold for her. He finds out she died right before his first race. He falls and fails to keep his promise. Extra obstacle: And he fell AGAIN in 1992! Even though he promised his sister! Who was DEAD! And then everyone gave up on him because they thought he was washed up! But he wasn't!And featuring: Scott Speedman! Should it air on Lifetime? Are you kidding? There's a PROMISE to a DEAD SISTER. And a happy ending! OF COURSE it should air on Lifetime! « Less

12/14

'The Abduction of Kari Swenson':

The (Almost) Olympian: In 1984, US biathlete Kari Swenson was one of the best in the world at a sport ... Show More »

The (Almost) Olympian: In 1984, US biathlete Kari Swenson was one of the best in the world at a sport that combines cross-country skiing and shooting. Unfortunately, women's biathlon wasn't an Olympic event until 1992.

Hard-knock life: Swenson was on a training run in Montana when she was kidnapped by survivalists who wanted to use her to 'start a tribe.' She was chained to a tree and held captive for more than 18 hours.Extra obstacles: Swenson was shot in the chest during a rescue attempt. One of her rescuers died. Then she had to deal with media coverage that romanticized her kidnappers as 'mountain men' who were just looking for a bride. Ick. And featuring: Tracy Pollan! M. Emmet Walsh! Should it air on Lifetime? Woman in peril, triumphant recovery. Yup. This has Lifetime written all over it. « Less

13/14

'Run for the Dream: The Gail Devers Story':

The Olympian: US track and field athlete Gail Devers, star of the 1992 Games in Barcelona.

The Olympians: Tonya Harding and Nancy Kerrigan, rival US figure skaters competing for a spot on the... Show More »

The Olympians: Tonya Harding and Nancy Kerrigan, rival US figure skaters competing for a spot on the team -- and then for gold -- at the 1994 Olympics in Lillehammer.

Hard-knock life: For Harding, abuse, neglect, molestation and more bad decisions than you can shake a stick at. For Kerrigan, a whack on the leg by Harding's associates that was supposed to break her knee, but ended up just making her withdraw from the national competition. Extra obstacle: Their own personalities -- Harding was seen as the trashtacular bad girl, Kerrigan as the stuck-up witch. And they didn't even win -- Oksana Biaul took the gold that year. And featuring: No one who wants this on their resume.Should it air on Lifetime? It's possible Lifetime is too classy for these two. « Less